About CIGMR Biobank

CIGMR Biobank is a website operated by the Centre for Integrated Genomic Medical Research (CIGMR) at the University of Manchester.

CIGMR is a University department established to tackle the biomedical research challenges of the post-genome era. So, in addition to research interests in population health and genetic epidemiology, CIGMR focuses on planning and constructing the research infrastructure and relationships needed to fulfill the promise of the Human Genome Project. It determined that biobanking is the critical research infrastructure for experimental biomedical research.

CIGMR has over a decade of experience in developing biobanks, houses the Medical Research Councils’s  UK DNA Banking Network collection and partners with the University of Liverpool to house the UK DNA Archive for Companion Animals.

CIGMR now manages many other collections that are accessible through CIGMR Biobank.

The University of Manchester Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences is a member of the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC) partnership – a nationally designated centre of excellence in health care research. MAHSC is implementing its vision to lead uptake of innovative applied health research and education into healthcare.

MAHSC has pump-primed a project designed by CIGMR to build a novel “hub and spoke” infrastructure across its partners. Samples are accrued in the clinics and stabilised in hospital “spokes” (with small biobanks intended for temporary storage). Batches then go to the central “hub” for final processing, storage and subsequent retrieval for experimental analysis.

MAHSC supports this hub and spoke approach because it promotes partnership, delivers cost-effectiveness and is consistent with best practise advocated internationally (e.g. the European biobanking network – BBMRI ).

MAHSC partners are collaborators with academic and industrial partners planning the construction of national and EU solutions in sample and data management via the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) and the European Commission Research and Innovation.

MAHSC is a partnership between: The University of Manchester; Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; The Christie Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust; NHS Salford (Salford Clinical Commissioning Group); Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust; University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust.